How Sanwo-Olu entered Tinubu’s inner circle — Ex-aide, Dapo Thomas

By Efe Onodjae

Former Special Assistant to then-Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, Professor Dapo Thomas, has revealed how the 2002 Ikeja Cantonment bomb blast and the solidarity visits that followed paved the way for the political relationship between Tinubu, former Deputy Governor Femi Pedro and eventual Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Thomas, a Professor of History at Lagos State University (LASU), made the revelation in his autobiography, Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics, where he chronicled behind-the-scenes events that shaped the Tinubu administration.

According to Thomas, after returning to Nigeria from Kampala on January 20, 2002, he was immediately assigned by Governor Tinubu to coordinate solidarity visits from corporate organisations, financial institutions, ministries and prominent Nigerians following the devastating Ikeja Cantonment bomb explosion of January 27, 2002.

The disaster claimed about 1,100 lives, injured nearly 5,000 people and displaced approximately 20,000 residents.

Thomas said his responsibility included organising the order of visits and managing donations presented to the governor before they were officially recorded and transferred to the Ministry of Finance.

It was during the exercise that he first encountered Femi Pedro, then Managing Director of First Atlantic Bank.
According to Thomas, Pedro initially approached him casually before later revealing that he had come to present a solidarity donation to the state government. However, there was a challenge.

Tinubu, after receiving several donations that day, had instructed that he would no longer personally receive delegations donating less than N5 million, directing such visitors instead to then-Commissioner for Finance Wale Edun or economic adviser Yemi Cardoso.
Pedro’s bank intended to donate only N1 million.
Thomas recalled that Pedro pleaded for an opportunity to meet the governor directly rather than being redirected.
Understanding the importance Pedro attached to the meeting, Thomas decided to assist him.
“I promised to try,” Thomas wrote.
He persuaded Tinubu to receive Pedro immediately after another bank executive had presented a N5 million cheque.
When Pedro eventually handed over the N1 million donation, Thomas recalled that Tinubu looked at the cheque and exclaimed in surprise after seeing the amount, while he quietly collected it and ensured the visit ended successfully.
According to Thomas, that encounter marked the beginning of Pedro’s relationship with Tinubu.
The two later developed a closer working relationship, and Thomas said he personally facilitated additional meetings between Pedro and the governor.
Less than a year later, while Thomas was attending an international Ford Foundation workshop in South Africa, he received news that Pedro had been appointed Deputy Governor of Lagos State.
Thomas described the appointment as remarkable, recalling that Pedro had barely known Tinubu before their first meeting during the bomb blast solidarity visits.
“When he eventually assumed duties, he came with his Personal Assistant, Yemi Lawal, and a Special Adviser called Babajide Sanwo-Olu,” Thomas wrote.
He said he and Sanwo-Olu later reminisced about the extraordinary chain of events during a campaign photoshoot at Fototek in Opebi ahead of Tinubu’s second-term election.
Thomas recalled that he and Tinubu’s Chief Detail, Tayo Ayinde, assisted both Tinubu and Pedro as they changed outfits during the session while discussing how quickly political fortunes could change.

Reflecting on Pedro’s rise, Thomas wrote that it illustrated “how small the world truly was,” noting that someone who had once sought his help to secure a meeting with the governor had, within a year, become Tinubu’s deputy—with Babajide Sanwo-Olu serving as his Special Adviser.